The bow and arrow together form a projectile weapon. Bows are generally shaped in the form of a flexible arc to shoot aerodynamic projectiles by means of elastic energy. The bow comprises a pair of curved elastic limbs with ends connected by a taut string or cord. As the string or cord is drawn (pulled) backwards (away from the desired direction of the projected arrow), the archer exerts compressive force on the underside of the limbs and tension on the outer sides of the limbs. As a result, while the string is held, energy is stored in the flexible arms of the bow. The energy is transferred to the arrow when the string is released, thereby projecting the arrow further than could be thrown.
Arrows typically consist of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletch and a nock at the opposed shaft end. The shaft is the primary structural element of the arrow, the stiffness of which is referred to as its “spine.” The nock forms a slot opening into which the string on the bow is inserted. The nock keeps the arrow in place on the string as the bow is drawn.
The force required to hold the string stationary at full draw of the bow is used to express the power of the bow, and is known as a “draw weight.” A higher draw weight means a more powerful bow that projects arrows at a faster and/or greater distance. For bows drawn by hand, the maximum draw weight is limited by the strength of the archer and the length of the archer's arms.
To project an arrow further than it can be thrown requires a bow. For a successful launch, the bow size must correspond to the size of the archer, and the draw weight must be appropriately matched to the strength of the archer. Consequently, typical archery sets drawn by hand must include different bow sizes and bows of differing draw weights to accommodate the archer's specific needs and attributes. In addition, bow grips are typically designed for right or left handed persons; consequently, special designs with different hand-grips are required for left-handed archers as opposed to right-handed archers.
Bows naturally add expense to archery sets. In addition, bows are often difficult to use, particularly by smaller children, due to the difficulty of balancing the arrow on the bow bridge as the arrow is drawn and held prior to release of the arrow. Children who repeatedly drop arrows because they cannot keep the arrow shaft balanced on the bow bridge become frustrated, and their efforts to keep the arrow balanced often interfere with accurate release of the arrow shaft, thereby posing a danger to others involved in the archery activity.
Arrow projectile systems that do not involve a bow are typically considered “toys” due to the fact that the arrow-type projectiles are thrown, but without the ability to aim as in a typical bow and arrow arrangement. For example, sling shots or sticks with elasticized strings can be used to project a rocket-type toy in a general upward trajectory. Swinging slings may also be employed to capitalize on centrifugal forces when spinning the “rocket” prior to its release. However, as with the sling shots, such sling-type launches cannot be readily aimed at targets, and although they provide recreation to the child by allowing a projectile launch in a generally upward trajectory, such toys cannot be used as an effective weapon or for consistent targeting of objects due to the entirely unpredictable trajectory upon release.
Accordingly, there is a long held, un-met need in the art for an arrow projectile system that does not require a bow; which is readily and easily scalable to any size or strength of archer; which may be universally used by right or left handed archers; which projects the arrow in a preferred direction of the archer's aim; which does not require the difficult pulling of a bow string to create potential energy; which results in an arrow being projected further and with more force than if the arrow were simply thrown by hand; which may be used, depending on the arrow design, in multiple settings ranging from recreation to competition to hunting; and which is less costly to the consumer than a typical combined bow and arrow archery set.